Henry Edward Hinge was born in 1861
in the village of
Ashbourne, Derbyshire, son of a butcher and publican of the White Swan Inn,
William Absalom
Hinge (c1831-1881) and his wife Mary Ann Hurd (1832-1889). As
a
young man, Henry was apprenticed to a cabinet maker, and he continued
working in this profession after his marriage to Henrietta Esther
Getliffe
(1863-) at Ashbourne in 1884.

Henry,
or "Harry" as he was often
known, became a professional photographer probably in the late 1890s,
although it is not clear when he first started taking
photographs. Some unattributed photos (see below) from the
mid-1890s are possibly early examples by Hinge, although the first
proven portraits date from c.1897-1899. He is known to have
operated a studio at the
Refreshment Rooms in Station
Road, Ashbourne
from at least 1904 until 1936 (Adamson, 1997).

I
am greatly indebted to Ian
Ward, grandson of Harry's sister Mary Louisa Hinge, for sending me
information about the Hinge family, and for contributing many images of
photos of family members, taken by Henry Hinge and other
photographers. These photographs came from an album left to
Ian
by his aunt Alice Ward.

Notes: An earlier photo of
a clean-shaven Harry Hinge from Ian Ward's album was taken at the studio of J.L. Hart, probably in
the early to mid-1890s.
It is suggested, therefore, that this example of a bearded Harry may
have been one of his own early attempts, taken with the help of an
assistant. At a guess, he looks to be in his mid- to late
30s, which would agree with a date, tentatively estimated from his clothing, of the
mid- to late 1890s.

Mary
Louisa Hinge (b. 1872), probably with her
nieces, from left to right, Elsie Lillian, Emily Louisa, Eleanor A, and
Henrietta Annie Hinge (daughters of the photographer)
probably by Henry Hinge of Ashbourne
Undated, but probably taken in the mid- to late 1890sFormat:
Carte de visite
Size: 62 mm x 103 mm

Notes: Mary
Louisa Hinge was
Henry Hinge's younger sister, born at Ashbourne in
late 1872. By my estimate, the nieces look to be aged
roughly nine, four, six and eleven, respectively, dating the photograph
to approximately 1896, when Mary Louisa would have been 24 years
old. The clothing is typical of the mid-1890s. The
photograph appears to have been taken in a makeshift studio, probably
outdoors in a brick-paved courtyard. The canvas backdrop
although
painted with some sort of scene is either faded or has much of the
"scene" washed out by the sunlight. The rug upon which they
are
seated and standing has been placed fairly roughly in
position. I
would guess that, if taken by Henry Hinge, this was obviously done at
an early stage of his career, when he had not established proper studio
facilities. An earlier photograph of Mary Louisa taken by J.L. Hart
possibly dates from around
1890-1891. At around this time, she worked as a domestic cook
in
the house of magistrate Thomas O. Farmer, in the nearby village of
Sturston.

Notes: Henrietta
Annie Hinge was
Henry & Henrietta Esther Hinge's eldest child, born at
Ashbourne in
late 1885, a year after their marriage. By my estimate, she
appears between ten and thirteen years old in this photograph,
which dates it to the late 1890s.

Mary
Louisa Hinge (b. 1872)
by Henry Hinge of Ashbourne
Undated, but probably taken in the late 1890s or early 1900sFormat:
Cabinet card
Size: 106 mm x 167 mm

Notes: Mary
Louisa Hinge married
Thomas Ward (see below) at Ashbourne in late 1904, and this photograph
probably dates from slightly earlier than that, perhaps around
1899-1902, when she was employed as a domestic housemaid in a household
in Matlock Bridge (Source: 1901 Census). Another photo in Ian
Ward's family album, taken by W.N. Statham,
obviously dates from this period.

Notes: Thomas
Ward married Mary Louisa Hinge at Ashbourne in late 1904, and Henry
Hinge may have taken this pair of photographs of his son-in-law, with boutonnière, at the time of the
wedding. The photos are the
first in the series from Ian Ward's album to have the Station Road
address printed on the card stock.

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